Reviews
Strange Boat was first published prior to The Waterboys’ most recent fully fledged studio album, 2007’s Book Of Lightning. This updated second edition, however, concludes with the band’s singular frontman Mike Scott informing author/RC scribe Ian Abrahams that he “has no sense of The Waterboys ending. Ever.” With an all-new Waterboys LP, Modern Blues, set for release early in 2015, it’s not inconceivable that further revisions of Strange Boat may be required in the future. Yet, even as the book stands in its current form, it represents a commendably drawn portrait of one of rock’s most restless individuals. Long on valuable insight from long-term collaborators including Anto Thistlethwaite and Roddy Lorimer, Strange Boat plots Scott’s fantastic voyage from his early years with short-lived Scots post-punksters Another Pretty Face through to his shunning of potential mainstream celebrity after The Waterboys’ much-loved 1985 hit Whole Of The Moon and his fabled late 80s Irish sojourn resulting in the sprawling Celtic folk masterpiece Fisherman’s Blues.To the author’s credit, Strange Boat consistently stays on course, even while navigating the crueller seas of Scott’s commercially-lean solo 90s and The Waterboys post-Y2K re-emergence. The book’s two additional chapters, meanwhile, present equally watertight retrospective critiques of Book Of Lightning and Scott’s 2011 LP of WB Yeats’ adaptations, An Appointment With Mr Yeats. (Record Collector, 2014)
A particularly well assembled biography of a fascinating musician. No fan of Mike Scott or the Waterboys, of ‘eighties music, or of the many strands of Celtic music will want to miss this entertaining book. Definitely recommended. (Terrascope)
Strange Boat charts the twisting and meandering journey of Mike Scott, describing the literary and spiritual references that inform his songwriting and exploring the multitude of locations and cultures in which his band, The Waterboys, have assembled and reflected in their recordings.
“To me there’s no difference between Mike Scott and The Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions.” Mike Scott
Strange Boat charts the twisting and meandering journey of Mike Scott, describing the literary and spiritual references that inform his songwriting and exploring the multitude of locations and cultures in which The Waterboys have assembled and reflected in their recordings.
From his early forays into the music scene in Scotland at the end of the 1970s, to his creation of a ‘Big Music’ that peaked with the hit single ‘The Whole of the Moon’ and onto the Irish adventure which spawned the classic Fisherman’s Blues, his constantly restless creativity has led him through a myriad of changes.
With his revolving cast of troubadours at his side, he’s created some of the most era-defining records of the 1980s, reeled and jigged across the Celtic heartlands, reinvented himself as an electric rocker in New York, and sought-out personal renewal in the spiritual calm of Findhorn’s Scottish highland retreat. Mike Scott’s life has been a tale of continual musical exploration entwined with an ever-evolving spirituality.
“An intriguing portrait of a modern musician” (Record Collector, 2007).
This new edition is revised and updated. The Kindle edition also contains three additional bonus features originally published in R2 Rock N Reel magazine, including an article on The Waterboys' W B Yeats album, an interview with Waterboys associate Ian McNabb and a further interview with Anthony 'Anto' Thistlethwaite.
Strange Boat was first published prior to The Waterboys’ most recent fully fledged studio album, 2007’s Book Of Lightning. This updated second edition, however, concludes with the band’s singular frontman Mike Scott informing author/RC scribe Ian Abrahams that he “has no sense of The Waterboys ending. Ever.” With an all-new Waterboys LP, Modern Blues, set for release early in 2015, it’s not inconceivable that further revisions of Strange Boat may be required in the future. Yet, even as the book stands in its current form, it represents a commendably drawn portrait of one of rock’s most restless individuals. Long on valuable insight from long-term collaborators including Anto Thistlethwaite and Roddy Lorimer, Strange Boat plots Scott’s fantastic voyage from his early years with short-lived Scots post-punksters Another Pretty Face through to his shunning of potential mainstream celebrity after The Waterboys’ much-loved 1985 hit Whole Of The Moon and his fabled late 80s Irish sojourn resulting in the sprawling Celtic folk masterpiece Fisherman’s Blues.To the author’s credit, Strange Boat consistently stays on course, even while navigating the crueller seas of Scott’s commercially-lean solo 90s and The Waterboys post-Y2K re-emergence. The book’s two additional chapters, meanwhile, present equally watertight retrospective critiques of Book Of Lightning and Scott’s 2011 LP of WB Yeats’ adaptations, An Appointment With Mr Yeats. (Record Collector, 2014)
A particularly well assembled biography of a fascinating musician. No fan of Mike Scott or the Waterboys, of ‘eighties music, or of the many strands of Celtic music will want to miss this entertaining book. Definitely recommended. (Terrascope)
Strange Boat charts the twisting and meandering journey of Mike Scott, describing the literary and spiritual references that inform his songwriting and exploring the multitude of locations and cultures in which his band, The Waterboys, have assembled and reflected in their recordings.
“To me there’s no difference between Mike Scott and The Waterboys; they both mean the same thing. They mean myself and whoever are my current travelling musical companions.” Mike Scott
Strange Boat charts the twisting and meandering journey of Mike Scott, describing the literary and spiritual references that inform his songwriting and exploring the multitude of locations and cultures in which The Waterboys have assembled and reflected in their recordings.
From his early forays into the music scene in Scotland at the end of the 1970s, to his creation of a ‘Big Music’ that peaked with the hit single ‘The Whole of the Moon’ and onto the Irish adventure which spawned the classic Fisherman’s Blues, his constantly restless creativity has led him through a myriad of changes.
With his revolving cast of troubadours at his side, he’s created some of the most era-defining records of the 1980s, reeled and jigged across the Celtic heartlands, reinvented himself as an electric rocker in New York, and sought-out personal renewal in the spiritual calm of Findhorn’s Scottish highland retreat. Mike Scott’s life has been a tale of continual musical exploration entwined with an ever-evolving spirituality.
“An intriguing portrait of a modern musician” (Record Collector, 2007).
This new edition is revised and updated. The Kindle edition also contains three additional bonus features originally published in R2 Rock N Reel magazine, including an article on The Waterboys' W B Yeats album, an interview with Waterboys associate Ian McNabb and a further interview with Anthony 'Anto' Thistlethwaite.
